U.S. VP Harris to join Pacific Islands meeting in push to counter China

 U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris hosts a round table with business executives, on the sidelines of the ninth Summit of the Americas, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 7, 2022. REUTERS/Lauren Justice

WASHINGTON – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will participate in the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting on Tuesday, a senior administration official said, as Washington steps up its engagement to counter China in the region.

She will announce new measures including the establishment of new U.S. embassies in Kiribati and Tonga, the appointment of the first-ever U.S. envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum and bringing the Peace Corps back to the region.

She will also establish a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) regional mission in Fiji and announce a new request asking Congress for economic assistance for the Pacific Islands that is nearly triple the current levels.

“In short, the vice president will be announcing that we are stepping up our game in the Pacific Islands,” the senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters. “This new chapter… will feature increased diplomatic presence on the ground throughout the region,” the official said.

The Biden administration has vowed to commit more resources to the Indo-Pacific as China seeks to boost economic, military and police links with Pacific island nations hungry for foreign investment.

Beijing’s growing influence was highlighted by its security pact with the Solomon Islands this year, a move that fanned concerns in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

“We are not asking countries to choose…we are focusing on our own engagement,” the administration official said, when asked about competition with China.

Washington has said it will expedite the opening of an embassy in the Solomon Islands, announced earlier this year when Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Fiji, the first trip there by America’s top diplomat in four decades.

Tensions between China and the United States, and the withdrawal of the remote Pacific island nation of Kiribati, have overshadowed the Pacific Islands Forum as leaders arrived in Fiji on Monday.